Automotive wheel lock means

ABSTRACT

An automotive wheel nut has a frusto-conical periphery and in its outer end face has a pair of wrench receiving openings of different diameters and spaced angularly at oblique angles. A wrench member in the shape of a nut has a clearance hole to fit over the wheel stud which projects from the nut and has pins in its inner face so spaced and sized as to fit the openings in the nut. A conventional wrench is employed for manipulating the wrench member to tighten or loosen the wheel nut.

United States Patent [191 Haker 111] 3,821,975 51 July 2,1974

AUTOMOTIVE WHEEL LOCK MEANS [76] Inventor: Leroy C. Haker, 1011 Rice Rd.,

Elma, NY. 14059 [22] Filed: Nov. 16, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 307,117

[52] 0.8. CI 145/50 A, 70/229, 70/260, 85/45 [51] Int. Cl B25b 15/00 [58] Field of Search 145/50 R, A; /229, 70/259, 260; /45

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 218,275 8/1879 Jones 85/45 UX 673,056 4/1901 Jacobs.... /50 A 1,298,398 3/1919 Purple 70/229 UX 1,447,564 3/1923 Norlund et a1 70/260 X 2,286,950 6/1942 Breedlove 70/229 X 3,073,206 l/1963 Rudolph 3,492,841 2/1970 Ipri 145/50 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 480,235 4/1953 Italy 85/45 948,413 I/1949 France 85/45 303,545 12/1932 Italy 70/229 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Popular Mechanics, June 1942, p. 45.

Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assistant Examiner.1. T. Zatarga Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Christel & Bean 5 7] ABSTRACT 2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEBJuL 2 I974 IIIIHHHIIIIII! I i FIG. 5.

AUTOMOTIVE WHEEL LOCK MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to threaded fasteners for securing automotive wheels to axles or brake drums of vehicles.

Very substantiallosses are incurred by the unauthorized removal or theft of automotive wheels from vehicles and numerous locking devices have been proposed to prevent such unauthorized removal or theft. One general type of locking device involves special wheel nut means which requires a special wrench for operating the wheel nut to remove the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The wheel lock arrangement of the present invention is of the latter type, involving novel wheel lock nuts and a wrench therefor. The arrangement of the present invention is extremely simple and economical to manufacture and is further characterized by the fact that an infinite number of combinations of nuts and wrench members may be provided without any great variation in the manufacturing operations required for the production of the special and various nuts and wrench devices.

Furthermore the special wrench element which keys to the wheel attaching nuts of a vehicle wheel is itself a simple nut-like element which in turn is operated by conventional wrench means -to apply, or remove the wheel locking nuts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a disassembled elevational view, partly in cross section, of a representative wheel mounting stud, securing nut, and wrench member of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cap nut which is applied to the wheel stud to cover the projecting portion thereof when the wheel nuts are securing the wheel in position;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the wheel nut element of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an end view of the special wrench member of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT In general automotive wheels are mounted on the axles of automobiles by means of studs which extend outwardly from a drum coupled to the end portion of the vehicle axle. The studs pass through openings in the wheel and are threaded to receive lug nuts.

In FIG. 1 the numeral designates one of a series of wheel mounting studs which extend outwardly from a brake drum or the like (not shown) and the numeral 11 designated a portion of a conventional vehicle wheel. One form of the wheel nut of the present invention is shown at 12 in FIG. 1 and in FIG. 2.

As there shown, nut 12 has a slightly frustoconical periphery and has the usual beveled projection 14 at its inner face for centering engagement with the complementary beveled formation surrounding the stud opening of wheel 11. At its outer face nut 12 is provided with a pair of openings 15 and 16 for cooperation with a special complementary wrench element.

As appears clearly from FIG. 3 which shows the outer face of nut 12, the openings 15 and 16 are of different diameters. Furthermore, the openings are not diametrically opposite to each other. Thus by varying the diameters of the two openings and by varying the angles at which'they are displaced from each other an infinite number of combinations is readily attained with only slight differences in appearance and without requiring highly special fabricating machinery or expensive milling operations in forming the nuts and the related wrench members.

The wrench member of the present embodiment is designated 18 and is shown at the left hand side of FIG. 1 and in FIG. 4. Wrench member 18 is actually an intermediate or adaptor member which acts between nut 12 and a conventional wrench which may be an adjustable wrench, a socket wrench, or the like.

Wrench member 18 has a clearance hole 19 so that it may be slipped over the outer projecting end portion of a stud l0 and is provided at its inner face with projecting pins 20 and 21 which fit into the openings 15 and 16, respectively, of nut 12. In applying wrench member 18 to nut 12 it is merely necessary to fit the wrench member over stud 10 and rotate the same until pins 20 and 21 enter openings 15 and 16.

With wrench member 18 thus positioned it is merely necessary to apply a conventional wrench to the extereach stud l0 and by tightening the same against nut 12 serves as a lock nut therefor. Cap'nut 23 has a blind threaded opening therein. I

A preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings to illustrate the underlying principles of the invention but it is to be understood that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, a nut member for engagement with a vehicle wheel stud and a cooperating wrench member, said members having relatively flat faces adapted to be juxtaposed, said nut member having a pair of eccentrically disposed openings in its face and said wrench member having a pair of pins at its face for interfitting engagement in said openings, said pairs of openings and interfitting pins being angularly obliquely displaced whereby said nut member can be engaged only by a complementary wrench member in the hands of an authorized person, said wrench member being externally formed to be engaged by conventional wrench means, and said wrench member having a central clearance opening adapted to fit over the portion of the wheel stud which projects from said nut.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said openings are of different diameters and said pins are likewise of different diameters to fit within said openings. 

1. In combination, a nut member for engagement with a vehicle wheel stud and a cooperating wrench member, said members having relatively flat faces adapted to be juxtaposed, said nut member having a pair of eccentrically disposed openings in its face and said wrench member having a pair of pins at its face for interfitting engagement in said openings, said pairs of openings and interfitting pins being angularly obliquely displaced whereby said nut member can be engaged only by a complementary wrench member in the hands of an authorized person, said wrench member being externally formed to be engaged by conventional wrench means, and said wrench member having a central clearance opening adapted to fit over the portion of the wheel stud which projects from said nut.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said openings are of different diameters and said pins are likewise of different diameters to fit within said openings. 